Electrical connectors typically consist of a small connector having a plurality of male terminals disposed for insertion into a plurality of female terminals of a female connector. In some cases the frictional engagement between the male and female connectors are relied upon for maintaining secured relation of the connectors. This has proven to be unsatisfactory when the connectors are used in environments where shock, vibration, or acceleration could cause them to separate, as in a missile system. Other types of connectors include a lever mechanism built into the male coupling at opposite ends thereof and engageable with indentations built into the surface of the female member for retention of the male and female members in secured relation. Such connectors necessarily require complicated manufacturing processes in that the lever mechanism must be built into the male connector at manufacture as must the indentations of the female connector.
It is therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a latch connector for releasably mating standard male and female electrical connectors for retention thereof during extreme accelerations or vibrations.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a latch connector as an adjunct assembly for standard connectors and thus eliminate the need for the latch connector to be made a part of the male or female connectors during manufacture thereof.